The district has been an early adopter of AI, using the technology to support data transparency and workforce development with a value-driven approach steering efforts.
The AI Public Listening Session, held July 15, addressed issues ranging from accessibility to usability. Public comments revealed that residents across different demographics want to see AI used to address a common challenge, the district’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Stephen Miller said: “That emerging trend really came down to simplifying the complexity of the district government.”
Specifically, residents are looking for a centralized, navigable interface across district government, from managing permits to finding children’s services. Government services tend to be siloed, Miller said, and the public is hoping AI can offer a unifying solution.
Officials are already on the path of unifying digital government services, Miller said, leveraging a $4.5 million investment to create a resident-facing portal and exploring how AI can play a role in supporting its no-wrong-door approach to governance. Hearing that this is the direction residents want to see their government go affirmed its current direction.
“We think AI is going to really help us reduce that complexity and provide that personalized, proactive approach to the district government’s services,” the CTO said.
AI will likely play a varied role in shaping the user experience, he said. In some areas of government, an AI-powered chatbot could help residents more easily navigate the information available to them. Leaders are also exploring how AI could be leveraged for predictive analytics, to help people find access to services before having to ask. Swimming lessons or child-care services, for example, could be presented to parents as summer approaches.
Notably, at this event, the district kicked off its pilot of deliberation.io, an AI-powered community engagement tool. It represents, Miller said, “a fundamental shift towards more continuous and scalable civic engagement.”
The tool’s use to explore large amounts of qualitative feedback, Miller said, aims to help the district align future projects, initiatives and investments with public requests. Session turnout was relatively high compared to typical technology-focused public sessions, he said. The use of an AI tool will enable the district to synthesize thousands — or potentially tens of thousands — of comments to identify commonalities. Although the comments are from verified individuals, the district is looking at synthesized, anonymized data to find and understand trends.
As part of the pilot, the Office of the CTO (OCTO) will work with partners to create a report that will be shared with the district’s AI Values Alignment Advisory Group, to guide recommendations made to Mayor Muriel Bowser. The broader goal is for the pilot’s findings to inform the district’s strategic direction with AI. The report, when publicized, will be available on the district’s AI values webpage.
Currently, the district is focused on the pilot’s effectiveness and the analysis of the data collected. Its long-term plan is to explore making the tool more widely available, Miller said, pending this pilot’s results.
The listening session itself is a demonstration of the district’s value-driven AI work, he said, as it prioritizes resident engagement. The public receives transparency about the tools being used and can expect accountability and security from the ways in which the government is using them. The public sessions, he said, allow the district to communicate to residents that the district’s AI implementation work is “in their interest — and hopefully in collaboration and partnership with them.”
The district’s next AI public listening session is planned for the first quarter of the forthcoming fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. The aim is to explore the tools the district now uses, such as Microsoft Copilot. Looking ahead, Miller said he expects to continue to explore the city’s investments with residents to ensure there is public buy-in with new technologies.
“We’re trying to do this as responsibly as possible,” Miller said, underlining the importance of implementing technologies with district values at the core, as is the case with its other IT work. “Our AI values are the values that we run off of every day here at OCTO.”
